AHS students share Great Depression accounts

Last week, Mr. Tracy Samber's 10th grade History class students visited the Washington County Green House to interview residents about the Great Depression. The students had to think of their own questions and have them ready before they visited the residents, running the questions by Mr. Samber before they left the school.
I thought it would be interesting to see what some of these residents had to say about the depression and what it was like for them as they grew up in that time. Mr. Samber brought a few of the student's reports to use, as it would be impossible to print them all. Some of the students worked by themselves and some worked in pairs, as there were not enough residents for the 34 students. Following are the reports on their interviews:
Great Depression Interview
By Dawson McMillion
On Friday, January 27, 2017, I interviewed Warren Howard (92) about the Great Depression. First I asked him his age and where he grew up. He told me he was 92, which makes his birth year 1925; and he said he was born here in Akron and grew up catty-corner from Davis Bros. or "Davis' Filer Station," as he called it. He told me his mother worked for Ford Motor Co. as a bookkeeper and his dad worked at the grain elevator; and during the depression he also worked at the lumberyard.
Warren went to school here in Akron and he graduated in 1942. While he was going to school, he says, he remembered that there were more windmills in Akron than there were trees and that didn't change until the new deal gave people jobs planting them.

Advertisement

He also remembered the clouds of dust that blew over during the day, because people would need to turn on their lights when the dust blocked out the sun. He says the summers during those years were very dry and also hotter than most.
His parents never lost any money in the bank, because they never used the bank, although some others did lose money. He remembered eating lots of beans, because they didn't have much else. He talked about repairing the same clothes and shoes and wearing them until they were worn out. Life was about "making due with what you had."
Howard is a veteran who was a pilot in the Air Force and later he was an airplane mechanic during WWII. He left for war out of high school and says that he remembers more about life after the war, because it was so much different than the depression days he grew up in. He remembered coming home to lots of trees and everyone had a job or had money. He worked one of the government jobs that was in Akron after he came home, which was building barns and houses and putting up fences on the farms around town. From this interview, I learned a lot about life in Akron during the depression and I found Warren Howard to be a delightful man.
On a side note, I found it quite interesting to meet Warren because, in 1962, Warren built a long pink house on Hickory Street, which he lived in until he was taken to the nursing home almost two years ago. That house happens to be the one my mom bought this summer and I spend about half of my time staying there now.
By Kate Pachner
On January 27, 2017, I interviewed my great-grandma, Esther Guy, on her experiences during the Great Depression.
Esther was born on December 24, 1923. Growing up, she had one younger sister. She lived on a farm about twenty miles south of Akron and about fifteen miles east of the highway. She told me they had about forty head of cattle, about three dozen chickens and a few pigs. Esther and her sister rode horses to school, which was a school house providing teaching from first to eighth grade.
Because Akron was so far away, the Guy family would only make trips to town about once a month. They would pack up their Model-T car with eggs and other products to sell once they arrived. "Everyone went to town on Saturdays," my grandma remarked. "I guess it was a social thing." What they grew was what they had. Esther remembers milking 12 cows every morning and only eating dried meat in the winter time. "It was really dusty," she said. "My mom would wet towels and put them around the door frames and windows to try to keep it out, but when it finally rained, it rained too much!"
Esther told about how her dad would put hay on a wagon and pull it out to the pasture to feed the cattle; however, due to the rains, she had to push the wagon while her dad pulled to keep it from getting stuck. Growing up during this time period had to have put pressure on a kid, so I asked my grandma what she did for fun. "We would pull our jackets over our heads and let the wind blow us backwards," she replied smiling.
She also said they rode horses and made pies out of the dirt, like every farm kid does no matter what time period they grew up in. I wish I would have had this conversation with my grandma sooner. It really makes me appreciate everything the people before me went through to provide me with the life I have today. Thank you for sharing Grandma. Love you.
During the Dirty Thirties
By Cheyenne McGuire
On Friday, January 27, 2017, Taylor Clarkson and I interviewed a man named Ova Evendors about the Dust Bowl. Mr. Evendors was reluctant to speak about it, but he did make a few comments. His son, Gary and daughter-in-law also volunteered some information.
Mr. Evendors had lived just east of Last Chance most of his life. He moved to the area when he was three or four years old, incredibly young for such a drastic move. His family lived in a homestead that still stands about three miles east and a quarter mile south of Last Chance, Colorado. There were two houses nearby that were close enough to be labeled as the Evendors' neighbors.
Mrs. Evendors, Mr. Ova's daughter-in-law made a comment about the lunch her grandmother-in-law used to pack Mr. Ova every day. Do you have a guess? Mrs. Evendors, Mr. Ova's mother, kept a twenty five pound sack of dry pinto beans in the pantry. She packed some in a Mason jar, poured a little cream on top and helped her family with the work that needed done, such as hauling water from the creek that ran nearby and farming their land.
Mr. Evendors attended school in Woodrow until the eighth grade, which he never finished because his family needed him to help work. His son, Mr. Gary Evendors, told us that the school was a series of shacks. In fact, Mr. Ova Evendors added that the girls lived in the schoolhouse during the school year and the boys lived in the shacks.
Mr. Evendors had a life after the Great Depression too. His children lived with him in the homestead near Last Chance and during those days, he sold cattle at auction in Brush, Colorado and often went on cattle drives to Kansas.
When asked if he had any other remarks for Taylor and I, Mr. Evendors said this: "They did okay, most of the time. Except when it was dry, too damn dry." He was then asked how often the weather was dry. From Mr. Evendors, "Most of the time was like that."
Mr. Evendors was highly informational and talking to him was fun. He stated that it was probably better to forget the Great Depression; and for him, it probably was. This was a hard assignment to help with. Can you imagine a total stranger asking you to tell her about the worst time of your life? He told us not just about the worst incident of his life, but the worst ten years. I am grateful to him for all he shared with Taylor and me.
A Man Named Ova
By Taylor Clarkson
Ova Evendors was born in Missouri and moved to Last Chance, Colorado when he was three years old. His mother was born in 1925 and his father was born in 1921. He grew up in Last Chance and went to school in Woodrow. In Woodrow, he says he remembers living in shacks during the school year, so he didn't have to travel so far for school every day. It was a rough time to live. His mother had a twenty-five pound bag of pinto beans to feed her family, so lunch was made up of pinto beans in a jar with a little cream on top.
Times got really tough when Ova was in eighth grade. Before Ova could finish eighth grade, he had to go back home and work on the farm to support his struggling family. Ova never finished eighth grade. When asked how his family did, he responded. "They did okay most of the time. Except when it was too damn dry. Most of the time was like that (too dry)."
Water was a scarce and valuable resource during this time in Northeastern Colorado. Every day, his family had to go down to the creek to haul water up to their homestead three miles east and a quarter mile south of Last Chance. Only two other families lived within two miles of his childhood home.
When he was older, Ova took over the farm and ended up raising his children in the Last Chance homestead. Ova had some wild days to. He sold his cattle at the auction in Brush and went on many cattle drives to Kansas and other places in Midwest.
By Tara Chadwick
What is your full name? My married name now is Georgia Geronimo.
When were you born? 1935
I heard that you grew up in California. Is that correct? Yes, I grew up in the Sacramento Valley.
When did you move out to Colorado? It was a long time ago, my husband transferred here.
What did your husband do to get transferred? He worked for a chemical company. He was plant physiologist.
So you lived during and around the depression, what was one of the hardest things you had to go through? I think it was tough on all of us, but in the summer time, we cut fruit, the kids did. We had a lot of apricot orchards and peach orchards and you would cut these peaches, cut out the seeds and put the peaches on a tray and they would put them out in the sun or supper houses to dry. It wasn't very much, we made a couple hundred dollars all summer. It wasn't very much during those days. I was just barely in high school and that's what we did.
That's crazy! Yeah, I did a few pears, I never like to cut pears. I did mostly peaches and apricots. 'Cuz you would just kind of flip out the seeds and put them on a tray. But that was okay for kids, we made two or three hundred dollars a summer. Depends on how fast you worked 'cuz you were paid by the lug boxes you filled.
How many were in each box, do you remember? A lug box? They were big. I didn't remember what the boxes...you know, just to carry fruit in. You would bring them in from the orchard and...that was what high school kids did. That's what we did in the summer time for extra money.
Were you affected by the dust bowl at all? Not really 'cuz I was in California but remember my family talking about it. They came from the Midwest. I don't remember exactly where, but they traveled like from the Midwest to California.
So you grew up in California, but they traveled from the Midwest to California? They traveled from the Midwest to California.
So when did they do that? Oh lord, I was just a kid. I don't know. To me it seemed like a hundred years ago. Yes, you know it's so long ago and you know kids don't remember a lot of things like that.
So do you have any real fond memories other than the peach orchards and all that? I enjoyed growing up in California. There were a lot of things to do and I just enjoyed it. I never had any qualms about it. Except, you know it was during the depression and you had to wash the jars and help your parents can and you know, do things like that.
So do you still do things like that, can foods and all that? Not anymore.
But you used to? Yeah, when I was growing up. But then, you know, you grow up and go to school and get married and that sort of thing. I lived in California most of my life, went to high school and community college there and worked there. Then I married my husband and we started to travel, he got transferred a lot, so I lived in Michigan for a while too.
Was that really cold? Yes, I can remember the end of the driveway, the snow being so high you had to put flags up on top so they knew the driveway is between those flags! Yeah, and then we moved back to California. It was a good time.
Did you have any kids or do you have any kids? We have an adopted daughter. Yeah, we got her when she was three days old. We went right to the hospital and got her. But she's always known she was adopted. Mom and Dad was there, my brother and sister were there. It was like the whole town was there to pick up this little baby! I don't remember what it said on her birth certificate. Adopted, altered, or something because it was changed over to our name when we got her. We went to court and did all that sort of stuff. It took a whole month. I still have a picture of her all dressed up when we went to court. She was in a pink dress and Mary Janes and she was sitting on the floor and the judge looked at her and he says well she looks okay to me! And that was it.
Do you think something like the Depression can happen again? I really hope not. If it does, it's going to be really hard on some of these younger generations.
Do you think my generation and generations younger and slightly older would be able to deal with it? I think maybe at first they might have a hard time, but they would adjust to it. I mean I can remember growing up we had to wash jars and my mother canned and they don't do that sort of thing now. We canned stuff and you know we had to do it, our parents made us do it. I hope they never see that again, cut I think it's gonna be harder on this generation.
Why do you say that? Because we never grew up with a lot of stuff and our parents made us do it.
And we kinda get everything handed to us? Yeah, they just never know, we never grew up WITHOUT anything, but my parents had it rough during the depression and it rubbed off on us so our parents made us do it.
Do you have any advice for the younger generations, not even just mine, but generations before mine? Whatever comes along they're going to have to work for it and deal with it. You know there were times I wanted to get a dress and my parents, you know my parents couldn't afford it. And I don't imagine you've had to wash fruit jars for canning like I had to. You don't look on it like it was hard work or something, it was just something you had to do. We made a lot of our clothes.
Last week, Mr. Tracy Samber's 10th grade History class students visited the Washington County Green House to interview residents about the Great Depression. The students had to think of their own questions and have them ready before they visited the residents, running the questions by Mr. Samber before they left the school.
I thought it would be interesting to see what some of these residents had to say about the depression and what it was like for them as they grew up in that time. Mr. Samber brought a few of the student's reports to use, as it would be impossible to print them all. Some of the students worked by themselves and some worked in pairs, as there were not enough residents for the 34 students. Following are the reports on their interviews:
Great Depression Interview
By Dawson McMillion
On Friday, January 27, 2017, I interviewed Warren Howard (92) about the Great Depression. First I asked him his age and where he grew up. He told me he was 92, which makes his birth year 1925; and he said he was born here in Akron and grew up catty-corner from Davis Bros. or "Davis' Filer Station," as he called it. He told me his mother worked for Ford Motor Co. as a bookkeeper and his dad worked at the grain elevator; and during the depression he also worked at the lumberyard.
Warren went to school here in Akron and he graduated in 1942. While he was going to school, he says, he remembered that there were more windmills in Akron than there were trees and that didn't change until the new deal gave people jobs planting them. He also remembered the clouds of dust that blew over during the day, because people would need to turn on their lights when the dust blocked out the sun. He says the summers during those years were very dry and also hotter than most.
His parents never lost any money in the bank, because they never used the bank, although some others did lose money. He remembered eating lots of beans, because they didn't have much else. He talked about repairing the same clothes and shoes and wearing them until they were worn out. Life was about "making due with what you had."
Howard is a veteran who was a pilot in the Air Force and later he was an airplane mechanic during WWII. He left for war out of high school and says that he remembers more about life after the war, because it was so much different than the depression days he grew up in. He remembered coming home to lots of trees and everyone had a job or had money. He worked one of the government jobs that was in Akron after he came home, which was building barns and houses and putting up fences on the farms around town. From this interview, I learned a lot about life in Akron during the depression and I found Warren Howard to be a delightful man.
On a side note, I found it quite interesting to meet Warren because, in 1962, Warren built a long pink house on Hickory Street, which he lived in until he was taken to the nursing home almost two years ago. That house happens to be the one my mom bought this summer and I spend about half of my time staying there now.
By Kate Pachner
On January 27, 2017, I interviewed my great-grandma, Esther Guy, on her experiences during the Great Depression.
Esther was born on December 24, 1923. Growing up, she had one younger sister. She lived on a farm about twenty miles south of Akron and about fifteen miles east of the highway. She told me they had about forty head of cattle, about three dozen chickens and a few pigs. Esther and her sister rode horses to school, which was a school house providing teaching from first to eighth grade.
Because Akron was so far away, the Guy family would only make trips to town about once a month. They would pack up their Model-T car with eggs and other products to sell once they arrived. "Everyone went to town on Saturdays," my grandma remarked. "I guess it was a social thing." What they grew was what they had. Esther remembers milking 12 cows every morning and only eating dried meat in the winter time. "It was really dusty," she said. "My mom would wet towels and put them around the door frames and windows to try to keep it out, but when it finally rained, it rained too much!"
Esther told about how her dad would put hay on a wagon and pull it out to the pasture to feed the cattle; however, due to the rains, she had to push the wagon while her dad pulled to keep it from getting stuck. Growing up during this time period had to have put pressure on a kid, so I asked my grandma what she did for fun. "We would pull our jackets over our heads and let the wind blow us backwards," she replied smiling.
She also said they rode horses and made pies out of the dirt, like every farm kid does no matter what time period they grew up in. I wish I would have had this conversation with my grandma sooner. It really makes me appreciate everything the people before me went through to provide me with the life I have today. Thank you for sharing Grandma. Love you.
During the Dirty Thirties
By Cheyenne McGuire
On Friday, January 27, 2017, Taylor Clarkson and I interviewed a man named Ova Evendors about the Dust Bowl. Mr. Evendors was reluctant to speak about it, but he did make a few comments. His son, Gary and daughter-in-law also volunteered some information.
Mr. Evendors had lived just east of Last Chance most of his life. He moved to the area when he was three or four years old, incredibly young for such a drastic move. His family lived in a homestead that still stands about three miles east and a quarter mile south of Last Chance, Colorado. There were two houses nearby that were close enough to be labeled as the Evendors' neighbors.
Mrs. Evendors, Mr. Ova's daughter-in-law made a comment about the lunch her grandmother-in-law used to pack Mr. Ova every day. Do you have a guess? Mrs. Evendors, Mr. Ova's mother, kept a twenty five pound sack of dry pinto beans in the pantry. She packed some in a Mason jar, poured a little cream on top and helped her family with the work that needed done, such as hauling water from the creek that ran nearby and farming their land.
Mr. Evendors attended school in Woodrow until the eighth grade, which he never finished because his family needed him to help work. His son, Mr. Gary Evendors, told us that the school was a series of shacks. In fact, Mr. Ova Evendors added that the girls lived in the schoolhouse during the school year and the boys lived in the shacks.
Mr. Evendors had a life after the Great Depression too. His children lived with him in the homestead near Last Chance and during those days, he sold cattle at auction in Brush, Colorado and often went on cattle drives to Kansas.
When asked if he had any other remarks for Taylor and I, Mr. Evendors said this: "They did okay, most of the time. Except when it was dry, too damn dry." He was then asked how often the weather was dry. From Mr. Evendors, "Most of the time was like that."
Mr. Evendors was highly informational and talking to him was fun. He stated that it was probably better to forget the Great Depression; and for him, it probably was. This was a hard assignment to help with. Can you imagine a total stranger asking you to tell her about the worst time of your life? He told us not just about the worst incident of his life, but the worst ten years. I am grateful to him for all he shared with Taylor and me.
A Man Named Ova
By Taylor Clarkson
Ova Evendors was born in Missouri and moved to Last Chance, Colorado when he was three years old. His mother was born in 1925 and his father was born in 1921. He grew up in Last Chance and went to school in Woodrow. In Woodrow, he says he remembers living in shacks during the school year, so he didn't have to travel so far for school every day. It was a rough time to live. His mother had a twenty-five pound bag of pinto beans to feed her family, so lunch was made up of pinto beans in a jar with a little cream on top.
Times got really tough when Ova was in eighth grade. Before Ova could finish eighth grade, he had to go back home and work on the farm to support his struggling family. Ova never finished eighth grade. When asked how his family did, he responded. "They did okay most of the time. Except when it was too damn dry. Most of the time was like that (too dry)."
Water was a scarce and valuable resource during this time in Northeastern Colorado. Every day, his family had to go down to the creek to haul water up to their homestead three miles east and a quarter mile south of Last Chance. Only two other families lived within two miles of his childhood home.
When he was older, Ova took over the farm and ended up raising his children in the Last Chance homestead. Ova had some wild days to. He sold his cattle at the auction in Brush and went on many cattle drives to Kansas and other places in Midwest.
By Tara Chadwick
What is your full name? My married name now is Georgia Geronimo.
When were you born? 1935
I heard that you grew up in California. Is that correct? Yes, I grew up in the Sacramento Valley.
When did you move out to Colorado? It was a long time ago, my husband transferred here.
What did your husband do to get transferred? He worked for a chemical company. He was plant physiologist.
So you lived during and around the depression, what was one of the hardest things you had to go through? I think it was tough on all of us, but in the summer time, we cut fruit, the kids did. We had a lot of apricot orchards and peach orchards and you would cut these peaches, cut out the seeds and put the peaches on a tray and they would put them out in the sun or supper houses to dry. It wasn't very much, we made a couple hundred dollars all summer. It wasn't very much during those days. I was just barely in high school and that's what we did.
That's crazy! Yeah, I did a few pears, I never like to cut pears. I did mostly peaches and apricots. 'Cuz you would just kind of flip out the seeds and put them on a tray. But that was okay for kids, we made two or three hundred dollars a summer. Depends on how fast you worked 'cuz you were paid by the lug boxes you filled.
How many were in each box, do you remember? A lug box? They were big. I didn't remember what the boxes...you know, just to carry fruit in. You would bring them in from the orchard and...that was what high school kids did. That's what we did in the summer time for extra money.
Were you affected by the dust bowl at all? Not really 'cuz I was in California but remember my family talking about it. They came from the Midwest. I don't remember exactly where, but they traveled like from the Midwest to California.
So you grew up in California, but they traveled from the Midwest to California? They traveled from the Midwest to California.
So when did they do that? Oh lord, I was just a kid. I don't know. To me it seemed like a hundred years ago. Yes, you know it's so long ago and you know kids don't remember a lot of things like that.
So do you have any real fond memories other than the peach orchards and all that? I enjoyed growing up in California. There were a lot of things to do and I just enjoyed it. I never had any qualms about it. Except, you know it was during the depression and you had to wash the jars and help your parents can and you know, do things like that.
So do you still do things like that, can foods and all that? Not anymore.
But you used to? Yeah, when I was growing up. But then, you know, you grow up and go to school and get married and that sort of thing. I lived in California most of my life, went to high school and community college there and worked there. Then I married my husband and we started to travel, he got transferred a lot, so I lived in Michigan for a while too.
Was that really cold? Yes, I can remember the end of the driveway, the snow being so high you had to put flags up on top so they knew the driveway is between those flags! Yeah, and then we moved back to California. It was a good time.
Did you have any kids or do you have any kids? We have an adopted daughter. Yeah, we got her when she was three days old. We went right to the hospital and got her. But she's always known she was adopted. Mom and Dad was there, my brother and sister were there. It was like the whole town was there to pick up this little baby! I don't remember what it said on her birth certificate. Adopted, altered, or something because it was changed over to our name when we got her. We went to court and did all that sort of stuff. It took a whole month. I still have a picture of her all dressed up when we went to court. She was in a pink dress and Mary Janes and she was sitting on the floor and the judge looked at her and he says well she looks okay to me! And that was it.
Do you think something like the Depression can happen again? I really hope not. If it does, it's going to be really hard on some of these younger generations.
Do you think my generation and generations younger and slightly older would be able to deal with it? I think maybe at first they might have a hard time, but they would adjust to it. I mean I can remember growing up we had to wash jars and my mother canned and they don't do that sort of thing now. We canned stuff and you know we had to do it, our parents made us do it. I hope they never see that again, cut I think it's gonna be harder on this generation.
Why do you say that? Because we never grew up with a lot of stuff and our parents made us do it.
And we kinda get everything handed to us? Yeah, they just never know, we never grew up WITHOUT anything, but my parents had it rough during the depression and it rubbed off on us so our parents made us do it.
Do you have any advice for the younger generations, not even just mine, but generations before mine? Whatever comes along they're going to have to work for it and deal with it. You know there were times I wanted to get a dress and my parents, you know my parents couldn't afford it. And I don't imagine you've had to wash fruit jars for canning like I had to. You don't look on it like it was hard work or something, it was just something you had to do. We made a lot of our clothes.
Last week, Mr. Tracy Samber's 10th grade History class students visited the Washington County Green House to interview residents about the Great Depression. The students had to think of their own questions and have them ready before they visited the residents, running the questions by Mr. Samber before they left the school.
I thought it would be interesting to see what some of these residents had to say about the depression and what it was like for them as they grew up in that time. Mr. Samber brought a few of the student's reports to use, as it would be impossible to print them all. Some of the students worked by themselves and some worked in pairs, as there were not enough residents for the 34 students. Following are the reports on their interviews:
Great Depression Interview
By Dawson McMillion
On Friday, January 27, 2017, I interviewed Warren Howard (92) about the Great Depression. First I asked him his age and where he grew up. He told me he was 92, which makes his birth year 1925; and he said he was born here in Akron and grew up catty-corner from Davis Bros. or "Davis' Filer Station," as he called it. He told me his mother worked for Ford Motor Co. as a bookkeeper and his dad worked at the grain elevator; and during the depression he also worked at the lumberyard.
Warren went to school here in Akron and he graduated in 1942. While he was going to school, he says, he remembered that there were more windmills in Akron than there were trees and that didn't change until the new deal gave people jobs planting them. He also remembered the clouds of dust that blew over during the day, because people would need to turn on their lights when the dust blocked out the sun. He says the summers during those years were very dry and also hotter than most.
His parents never lost any money in the bank, because they never used the bank, although some others did lose money. He remembered eating lots of beans, because they didn't have much else. He talked about repairing the same clothes and shoes and wearing them until they were worn out. Life was about "making due with what you had."
Howard is a veteran who was a pilot in the Air Force and later he was an airplane mechanic during WWII. He left for war out of high school and says that he remembers more about life after the war, because it was so much different than the depression days he grew up in. He remembered coming home to lots of trees and everyone had a job or had money. He worked one of the government jobs that was in Akron after he came home, which was building barns and houses and putting up fences on the farms around town. From this interview, I learned a lot about life in Akron during the depression and I found Warren Howard to be a delightful man.
On a side note, I found it quite interesting to meet Warren because, in 1962, Warren built a long pink house on Hickory Street, which he lived in until he was taken to the nursing home almost two years ago. That house happens to be the one my mom bought this summer and I spend about half of my time staying there now.
By Kate Pachner
On January 27, 2017, I interviewed my great-grandma, Esther Guy, on her experiences during the Great Depression.
Esther was born on December 24, 1923. Growing up, she had one younger sister. She lived on a farm about twenty miles south of Akron and about fifteen miles east of the highway. She told me they had about forty head of cattle, about three dozen chickens and a few pigs. Esther and her sister rode horses to school, which was a school house providing teaching from first to eighth grade.
Because Akron was so far away, the Guy family would only make trips to town about once a month. They would pack up their Model-T car with eggs and other products to sell once they arrived. "Everyone went to town on Saturdays," my grandma remarked. "I guess it was a social thing." What they grew was what they had. Esther remembers milking 12 cows every morning and only eating dried meat in the winter time. "It was really dusty," she said. "My mom would wet towels and put them around the door frames and windows to try to keep it out, but when it finally rained, it rained too much!"
Esther told about how her dad would put hay on a wagon and pull it out to the pasture to feed the cattle; however, due to the rains, she had to push the wagon while her dad pulled to keep it from getting stuck. Growing up during this time period had to have put pressure on a kid, so I asked my grandma what she did for fun. "We would pull our jackets over our heads and let the wind blow us backwards," she replied smiling.
She also said they rode horses and made pies out of the dirt, like every farm kid does no matter what time period they grew up in. I wish I would have had this conversation with my grandma sooner. It really makes me appreciate everything the people before me went through to provide me with the life I have today. Thank you for sharing Grandma. Love you.
During the Dirty Thirties
By Cheyenne McGuire
On Friday, January 27, 2017, Taylor Clarkson and I interviewed a man named Ova Evendors about the Dust Bowl. Mr. Evendors was reluctant to speak about it, but he did make a few comments. His son, Gary and daughter-in-law also volunteered some information.
Mr. Evendors had lived just east of Last Chance most of his life. He moved to the area when he was three or four years old, incredibly young for such a drastic move. His family lived in a homestead that still stands about three miles east and a quarter mile south of Last Chance, Colorado. There were two houses nearby that were close enough to be labeled as the Evendors' neighbors.
Mrs. Evendors, Mr. Ova's daughter-in-law made a comment about the lunch her grandmother-in-law used to pack Mr. Ova every day. Do you have a guess? Mrs. Evendors, Mr. Ova's mother, kept a twenty five pound sack of dry pinto beans in the pantry. She packed some in a Mason jar, poured a little cream on top and helped her family with the work that needed done, such as hauling water from the creek that ran nearby and farming their land.
Mr. Evendors attended school in Woodrow until the eighth grade, which he never finished because his family needed him to help work. His son, Mr. Gary Evendors, told us that the school was a series of shacks. In fact, Mr. Ova Evendors added that the girls lived in the schoolhouse during the school year and the boys lived in the shacks.
Mr. Evendors had a life after the Great Depression too. His children lived with him in the homestead near Last Chance and during those days, he sold cattle at auction in Brush, Colorado and often went on cattle drives to Kansas.
When asked if he had any other remarks for Taylor and I, Mr. Evendors said this: "They did okay, most of the time. Except when it was dry, too damn dry." He was then asked how often the weather was dry. From Mr. Evendors, "Most of the time was like that."
Mr. Evendors was highly informational and talking to him was fun. He stated that it was probably better to forget the Great Depression; and for him, it probably was. This was a hard assignment to help with. Can you imagine a total stranger asking you to tell her about the worst time of your life? He told us not just about the worst incident of his life, but the worst ten years. I am grateful to him for all he shared with Taylor and me.
A Man Named Ova
By Taylor Clarkson
Ova Evendors was born in Missouri and moved to Last Chance, Colorado when he was three years old. His mother was born in 1925 and his father was born in 1921. He grew up in Last Chance and went to school in Woodrow. In Woodrow, he says he remembers living in shacks during the school year, so he didn't have to travel so far for school every day. It was a rough time to live. His mother had a twenty-five pound bag of pinto beans to feed her family, so lunch was made up of pinto beans in a jar with a little cream on top.
Times got really tough when Ova was in eighth grade. Before Ova could finish eighth grade, he had to go back home and work on the farm to support his struggling family. Ova never finished eighth grade. When asked how his family did, he responded. "They did okay most of the time. Except when it was too damn dry. Most of the time was like that (too dry)."
Water was a scarce and valuable resource during this time in Northeastern Colorado. Every day, his family had to go down to the creek to haul water up to their homestead three miles east and a quarter mile south of Last Chance. Only two other families lived within two miles of his childhood home.
When he was older, Ova took over the farm and ended up raising his children in the Last Chance homestead. Ova had some wild days to. He sold his cattle at the auction in Brush and went on many cattle drives to Kansas and other places in Midwest.
By Tara Chadwick
What is your full name? My married name now is Georgia Geronimo.
When were you born? 1935
I heard that you grew up in California. Is that correct? Yes, I grew up in the Sacramento Valley.
When did you move out to Colorado? It was a long time ago, my husband transferred here.
What did your husband do to get transferred? He worked for a chemical company. He was plant physiologist.
So you lived during and around the depression, what was one of the hardest things you had to go through? I think it was tough on all of us, but in the summer time, we cut fruit, the kids did. We had a lot of apricot orchards and peach orchards and you would cut these peaches, cut out the seeds and put the peaches on a tray and they would put them out in the sun or supper houses to dry. It wasn't very much, we made a couple hundred dollars all summer. It wasn't very much during those days. I was just barely in high school and that's what we did.
That's crazy! Yeah, I did a few pears, I never like to cut pears. I did mostly peaches and apricots. 'Cuz you would just kind of flip out the seeds and put them on a tray. But that was okay for kids, we made two or three hundred dollars a summer. Depends on how fast you worked 'cuz you were paid by the lug boxes you filled.
How many were in each box, do you remember? A lug box? They were big. I didn't remember what the boxes...you know, just to carry fruit in. You would bring them in from the orchard and...that was what high school kids did. That's what we did in the summer time for extra money.
Were you affected by the dust bowl at all? Not really 'cuz I was in California but remember my family talking about it. They came from the Midwest. I don't remember exactly where, but they traveled like from the Midwest to California.
So you grew up in California, but they traveled from the Midwest to California? They traveled from the Midwest to California.
So when did they do that? Oh lord, I was just a kid. I don't know. To me it seemed like a hundred years ago. Yes, you know it's so long ago and you know kids don't remember a lot of things like that.
So do you have any real fond memories other than the peach orchards and all that? I enjoyed growing up in California. There were a lot of things to do and I just enjoyed it. I never had any qualms about it. Except, you know it was during the depression and you had to wash the jars and help your parents can and you know, do things like that.
So do you still do things like that, can foods and all that? Not anymore.
But you used to? Yeah, when I was growing up. But then, you know, you grow up and go to school and get married and that sort of thing. I lived in California most of my life, went to high school and community college there and worked there. Then I married my husband and we started to travel, he got transferred a lot, so I lived in Michigan for a while too.
Was that really cold? Yes, I can remember the end of the driveway, the snow being so high you had to put flags up on top so they knew the driveway is between those flags! Yeah, and then we moved back to California. It was a good time.
Did you have any kids or do you have any kids? We have an adopted daughter. Yeah, we got her when she was three days old. We went right to the hospital and got her. But she's always known she was adopted. Mom and Dad was there, my brother and sister were there. It was like the whole town was there to pick up this little baby! I don't remember what it said on her birth certificate. Adopted, altered, or something because it was changed over to our name when we got her. We went to court and did all that sort of stuff. It took a whole month. I still have a picture of her all dressed up when we went to court. She was in a pink dress and Mary Janes and she was sitting on the floor and the judge looked at her and he says well she looks okay to me! And that was it.
Do you think something like the Depression can happen again? I really hope not. If it does, it's going to be really hard on some of these younger generations.
Do you think my generation and generations younger and slightly older would be able to deal with it? I think maybe at first they might have a hard time, but they would adjust to it. I mean I can remember growing up we had to wash jars and my mother canned and they don't do that sort of thing now. We canned stuff and you know we had to do it, our parents made us do it. I hope they never see that again, cut I think it's gonna be harder on this generation.
Why do you say that? Because we never grew up with a lot of stuff and our parents made us do it.
And we kinda get everything handed to us? Yeah, they just never know, we never grew up WITHOUT anything, but my parents had it rough during the depression and it rubbed off on us so our parents made us do it.
Do you have any advice for the younger generations, not even just mine, but generations before mine? Whatever comes along they're going to have to work for it and deal with it. You know there were times I wanted to get a dress and my parents, you know my parents couldn't afford it. And I don't imagine you've had to wash fruit jars for canning like I had to. You don't look on it like it was hard work or something, it was just something you had to do. We made a lot of our clothes.